China's four largest banks extended 370 billion yuan ($59.4 billion) of new loans in January, up from 320 billion yuan in the same period last year, the official China Securities Journal reported on Tuesday.

That marked an uptick from 210 billion yuan in December, after total new bank loans had steadily declined during 2012 as loans fell as a proportion of total social financing.

A Reuters survey estimated that total new loans from all Chinese banks would hit 1 trillion yuan in January. The big four banks usually account for 30 percent to 50 percent of overall new bank lending in China.

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China is diversifying its channels of alternative money supply, including trust loans and bonds, meaning that bank loans are losing the top spot as the key measure of Chinese money supply.